Cyprus-Forum.com

[sk]

Could this happen in few years?i was informed last night that the skandinavian countries will ask from the baltic states to join their "union". this means that 6 EU members will also belong to different union.
could this bring the end of EU? where do the rest of the countries stand?i was told that if the baltic states do become members then they will ask from uk to join in a few years

[Sotos]

I think if Turkey joins then some countries will form their own unions and leave from EU.

[bg_turk]

People are united only when there is a reason to be united, i.e. a common enemy. Now that the USSR is gone and the soviet threat diappeared, I cannot see the EU existing for too long, unless of course another threat emerges. It seems to me that terrorism is a good candidat, and we are already hearing politicians talking about need to stay united against this global threat.

[BirKibrisli]

People are united only when there is a reason to be united, i.e. a common enemy. Now that the USSR is gone and the soviet threat diappeared, I cannot see the EU existing for too long, unless of course another threat emerges. It seems to me that terrorism is a good candidat, and we are already hearing politicians talking about need to stay united against this global threat.

You are right bg-turk,
We seem to need a common enemy to unite.
But have you noticed how the USA is dictating what is a common threat these days?They first tried to pick on Islam and more specifically Islamic fundamentalism,but when that backfired they are calling it "terrorism".
This is to divert attention from real threats like global warming,climate change,and the imminent running out of world's resources(oil,water,coal etc) thanks to the lunatic attempt to globalise free market economy.
I am not just picking on the USA,the rest of the developped world is as guilty of course,just that the USA and lately England and Australia stand out like a sore thumb.

[bg_turk]

But have you noticed how the USA is dictating what is a common threat these days?

The US is dictating, birkibrisli, but nobody is listening these days. I am afraid the US has lost a lot of credibility with the Iraqi war. Bush ruined the image of america abroad.

They first tried to pick on Islam and more specifically Islamic fundamentalism,but when that backfired they are calling it "terrorism".

The US never picked on Islam. If it were the case they would have never intervened in the Balkans for the sake of Bosnia and Kosovo. I think the perceived anti-islamism of the USA is related mainly to its support of israel, and in general there maybe a little of truth to that given the extreme christian fundamentalists that support Bush's government.

This is to divert attention from real threats like global warming,climate change,and the imminent running out of world's resources(oil,water,coal etc) thanks to the lunatic attempt to globalise free market economy.
I am not just picking on the USA,the rest of the developped world is as guilty of course,just that the USA and lately England and Australia stand out like a sore thumb.

I know. It is a pity that we the humans do not realize how we belong on a tiny planet orbitting a small main-type star in the periphery of an average galaxy somewhere in the depths of the unvierse and how infinitely more insignificant even than speck of sand we are. We are so enmesshed in our a petty and detached conflicts, that we forget about the real problems of our shared home. Human civilization can so easily be wiped by global warming and an asteroid impact, we must thank ALLAH we are still alive.

[ELLAS H TEFRA!]

Its easy to say that-"we the humans do not realize how we belong on a tiny planet orbitting a small main-type star in the periphery of an average galaxy somewhere in the depths of the unvierse and how infinitely more insignificant even than speck of sand we are"- when from that "tiny planet" you have a reasonable piece to call your own. But what happens when you do not even have that to call your own?? Or when hou have a tiny piece of a tiny planet and someone takes almost half of that away from you??

[Piratis]

People are united only when there is a reason to be united, i.e. a common enemy. Now that the USSR is gone and the soviet threat diappeared, I cannot see the EU existing for too long, unless of course another threat emerges.

EU has nothing to do with defending from a common enemy. They never even had a decent common army. This common defense was always part of NATO, not EU.
EU is a union that is made to serve the economic interests of the countries that make it. A united EU is needed if Europeans are going to compete with other big economies like USA and Japan.

Personally I don't know if EU will last for 100s of years. However EU will not be dissolved any time soon.

[bg_turk]

Personally I don't know if EU will last for 100s of years. However EU will not be dissolved any time soon.

Is this what you belive will happen, or what you want to believe will happen? I hope you are right, the EU should not be dissolved but given the recent crisis in the acceptance of the constitution I would not be as sure as you are. Only time will show.

[Khan]

The EU's strength is mainly economic. With the rise of China the EU has a sound reason to be around, Turkey's entry will only help this.

[Piratis]

Is this what you belive will happen, or what you want to believe will happen? I hope you are right, the EU should not be dissolved but given the recent crisis in the acceptance of the constitution I would not be as sure as you are. Only time will show.

The crisis with the acceptance of the constitution means that integration will slow down and that admission for new countries will be more difficult. However it doesn't mean that EU is about to be dissolved.